The new teaching technique allows for better direct instruction between teacher and student, principal said

School has changed since the time when teachers would lecture in front of a classroom while students silently take copious notes.

The faculty at Hanover High School is designing a new student-customized curriculum.

At the start of 2014-15 school year, 20 teachers will have incorporated the flipped classroom technique into their courses in an effort to improve student engagement, as outlined in the new high school focus plan.

A flipped classroom involves applied activities during class with video lectures at home, effectively reversing the regular school workflow.

The new technique allows for teachers to get directly involved with learning during the day and for students to self-pace learning with material at home, said high school Principal Rina Houck.

"When you're in a classroom and the teacher is presenting something, if you didn't catch it, they would move on," Houck said. "Now you can watch the lectures online as many times as you want until you understand it."

The flipped classroom is designed to work with every type of learner and allows for more support, more projects and more teacher involvement during the school day, said Assistant Superintendent Susan Seiple. The hope is this new customized style, which includes access to tutorials and other materials online, will help keep students interested and lower the drop-out rate, she said.

"It's so different from when we went to school," Seiple said. It's very exciting."

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Jason Suter, a biology teacher at Hanover High School, was one of the first to utilize the flipped classroom, testing out the method this past school year. The new class format emphasizes the idea that students are a team working toward a similar learning goal, he said.

"It's an environment where they don't need to feel defeated when they don't 'get it' the first time, but rather they have the knowledge that the material and support needed is available to them to ensure they will understand it in the end," Suter said.

Each day, students have the choice to watch instructional videos or work on labs and projects, he said. The entire period is self-paced so students can work ahead if they are able, or spend more time on something if they need to.

This approach allows the teacher work with the students one-on-one or in small groups when they are having trouble, Suter said.

"I can say with confidence that my students learned at a much higher level this year than they have in the past," Suter said. "I really felt many of them really appreciated the effort I was putting into their instruction inside and outside of the classroom to help ensure their success."

Based on initial data from Suter's class, as well as the other four teachers who tested the flipped classroom in 2013-14, a higher percentage of students are passing the flipped courses compared to the classes taught in the traditional method, Houck said.

Students are responding to the new courses, Houck said, which is inspiring other teachers to get involved in the classroom update.